No Happy Ending for Obamacare

After their nauseating tale of the success of the “Obamacare underdog," Politico came to their senses and printed a piece about the hurdles ahead of this massive piece of law.

Of the “six big danger points” they discussed, a few were particularly damning.

First, people don’t realize that now that the March 31 “official” deadline has passed, they can’t get insurance for the rest of the year. Even if they end up sick and needing coverage, Obama has stonewalled Americans from seeking care.

Secondly, Americans heard the $95 penalty for not buying insurance and figured, “Eh, not so bad." They didn’t realize that it was $95 or 1 percent of their income – whichever is higher. In other words, if you make any more than $9,500 a year, you are in for a terrible shock when tax time rolls around.

Thirdly, Americans receiving insurance for the first time might not understand the “out of pocket” expenses that come with their plans. They assumed “free” meant “free," but when they get billed for co-pays or other costs, they might find themselves disillusioned with the law.

Those of you who have been following the rollout of the ACA are thinking, “Haven’t Americans been reading the news? Don’t they know this already?”

Unfortunately, the constant bickering between the liberal and conservative media has led to millions of confused people. On one side Obama makes promises; on the other side Republican congressmen call his bluff. Caught between these high-profile decision-makers are the working Americans who want coverage without falling into the red.

The complicated bureaucracy that accompanies this law hurts the very people it was intended to help—the uninsured. You can’t expect people who have never had an insurance policy to suddenly understand the specifics of the health insurance world. Obama’s simplistic #GetCovered campaign hid facts and numbers, as well as ignored the education needed for the newly insured.

Sadly, the Daily Caller reported that premium prices increased from 3 percent in 2013 to 12 percent by March of 2014. That’s a quadrupling of premiums since Obamacare took action.

This comes as no surprise to those of us who warned these problems would surface as Obamacare unfolded, but the realities are just now hitting the public’s pocketbooks.

More evils are yet to escape from Obama’s box if Obamacare continues unchallenged. There’s no happy ending for the ACA.

The American Spectator Foundation is the 501(c)(3) organization responsible for publishing The American Spectator magazine and training aspiring journalists who espouse traditional American values. Your contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Each donor receives a year-end summary of their giving for tax purposes.